CB Cromartie had issue with his hips

The New York Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie recently missed the team’s minicamp, claiming that there was fatigue in his left hip. However, reporters are guessing that he might use the wrong excuse to take a leave because it was his right hip that was fractured during the 2008 season when he was playing in New Orleans Saints jersey.

Cromartie’s agent Gary Wichard recently told reporters that his client had an issue with his hip without specifying which hip was the one that prevented Cromartie from working out. So did Jets secondary coach Dennis Thurman when he was receiving interview from ESPN.

“His hamstring was fatigued and his hip was fatigued,” Wichard said. “(Thurman) was the one who chose to give him a few reps off. It wasn’t a big deal. At the end of the day, it was not the same hip that was hurt two years ago. It’s a nonissue. It was nothing. It’s typical training fatigue. He’s fine.”

No matter which hip was bothering Cromartie, at least one thing is for sure according to his agent. That is, he is fine and will be ok for game days. Perhaps he was just taking the hip as an excuse for staying out of hard work in minicamp.

RB P.J. Hill is with the Saints again

In his second year of being an NFL player, running back P.J. Hill put on the New Orleans Saints jersey for the third time after the team claimed him off waivers again on Wednesday from the Washington Redskins. Hopefully, this time he will be able to come through a full season.

Becoming an undrafted rookie free agent after 2009 NFL draft, Hill signed a three-year contract with the Saints and was with them during the whole preseason and rushed for 128 yards on 26 carries with 3 touchdowns and two additional catches for nine yards. However, the Saints were already full of elite running backs like Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas, so unsurprisingly, Hill was cut when it was time for teams to restrain their roster number within 53 players. Interestingly, he was called back by the Saints the next day and became part of the practice squad.

Hill was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles last October but it was till December when he finally was on their practice squad. However, he did not stay with the Eagles for long as a third team, the Redskins, claimed him off the waivers later.

It seems that Hill has always been treated as a reserve. The former college football star had a brilliant college football career with the Wisconsin Badgers. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards and scored ten or more touchdowns each season as a college runningback. But his main role with NFL team seems only to add pressure on other running backs. According to Saints head coach Sean Payton, the team has high expectation on Lynell Hamilton, who is likely to be the third back behind Bush and Thomas, and existence of Hill will push him to work harder to get the third spot and more playing time.